Daily -ist List: Monday

Joe Turner's Come and Gone: Ensemble Theatre

Not that Houstonist needs anymore reason to love Midtown, but the Ensemble Theater convinces us even more. Over the past few years, the Ensemble has showcased some of the city's most prolific African-American theater, dance, and song.

Opening this past weekend, Joe Turner Come and Gone continues in this tradition with August Wilson's play revolving around the denizens who occupy this post-slavery boarding house and “gives haunting voice to the souls of the American dispossessed.” Set in a black boardinghouse in Pittsburgh in 1911, the play was first produced in 1986 by the Yale Repertory Theatre, and was inspired both by the 1978 Romare Bearden artwork, Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket, and the blues song, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."

The song, which was recorded by legendary blues artist, W. C. Handy, was first sung by many estranged black women who had lost their husbands, fathers, and sons to Joe Turner—a plantation owner who illegally enslaved blacks in the early twentieth century.
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Runs: March 10-April 8, 2007
Tickets: $10-$35
Times: Thurs. 7:30pm, Fri. 8:00pm, Sat. 2:00pm, Sat. 8:00pm, Sun. 3:00pm

About the Ensemble Theater
Founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins, The Ensemble has evolved to be the largest African-American professional theatre company in the U.S. that produces in-house and owns its own facility. It is truly one of Houston’s finest historical cultural institutions. The theatre is a non-profit organization that houses three stages located on Main Street in the heart of midtown. Each year the theatre presents a repertoire of critically acclaimed dramas, comedies and musicals that demonstrate the artistic ability of more than 250 professional local, regional and national artists and support staff. The theatre also has an educational touring program and a summer young performers training program. The Ensemble is pleased to highlight two major milestones: the retirement of its $360,000 debt remaining from its $4.5 million capital campaign, and the dedication of a METRO commuter rail stop named in the theatre’s honor.